OK, Kerry refers to Israel as "our friends" while Zarif calls Israel "the Zionist entity". Kerry says Israel could be isolated while Zarif says it already is. But the Obama Administration and Iran are on message when it comes to Israel's isolation.

Tonight, the New York Mets acquired Juan Uribe and Kelly Johnson from the Atlanta Braves for two minor league pitchers. I think the Mets are going to need Uribe and Johnson to spark their offense, but they both have pop in their bats and can play multiple positions. Uribe is hitting .272 with 8 HR and 23 RBI with both the Dodgers & Braves. Atlanta acquired Uribe from L.A. in late May for Alberto Callaspo. Meanwhile, Johnson is hitting .275 with 9 HR and 34 RBI. The Mets are Johnson's 8th MLB team since 2005. Johnson has had two stints with the Braves, a stint with the D'Backs and has played with all five AL East teams. I'm sure Johnson will add a 9th team in 2016 as he becomes a free agent. Ditto for Uribe who has two World Series rings with the Chisox in 2005 and the Giants in 2010. That should be of help to the Mets. But I'm sure Mets fans are expecting more of Mets GM Sandy Alderson to compete with the Washington Nationals.

Dan Pfeiffer, long-time aid to Barack Obama, and his Senior Advisor for Strategy and Communication until joining CNN, told reporters at a Bloomberg Policy Breakfast last November that Obama needed a Democrat to win the 2016 to cement the “core elements” of his legacy.

“It’s very important because I know what we did in the first 100 days of our administration, and it was go through a lot of what President Bush did and sign executive orders doing the opposite,” Pfeiffer said.

And we all know how important his legacy is to Barack Obama. He’d do anything to achieve it—from selling out his country and its allies to an evil theocratic regime that needs a nuke to hasten the advent of the 12th Imam and the subsequent apocalypse, to serving as the Grand Ayatollah’s butt boy. So setting up a Democrat successor must be very high on his agenda at this time.

Valerie Jarrett, who first put the screws to Hillary Clinton by leaking information about her e-mail problems, appears to be tightening them.

The Wall Street Journalreports that the inspector general of the intelligence community has found that at least four emails from Hillary’s personal account contained information that was classified at the second highest level of secrecy at the time that she sent them. Uh…I mean “at the time that they were sent.”

The IG referred the matter to the FBI’s counterintelligence division. The Justice Department first disclosed that the investigation was criminal in nature, but later it inexplicably reversed itself on that point.

Well, keep in mind, first of all, we’ve shut off the pathways for Iran getting a nuclear weapon, which was priority number one. Because if Iran obtained a nuclear weapon, then they could cause all those same problems that you just listed with the protection of a nuclear bomb. And create much greater strategic challenges for the United States, for Israel, for our Gulf allies, for our European allies.

Second, it is true that by definition, in a negotiation and a deal like this, Iran gets something out of it. The sanctions regime that we put in place with the hope of the Brits, but also the Chinese and the Russians and others meant that they had funds that were frozen. They get those funds back. A large portion of those funds are going to have to be used for them to rebuild their economy.

The Dominican born Ramirez signed with the Pirates at the age of 16 in 1994 and would make his big league debut in 1998.

The Bucs traded Ramirez to the Cubs in 2003 along with Kenny Lofton and would come within five outs of winning a NL pennant and playing in a World Series. And, well, I won't go any further there.

Ramirez remained with the Cubs through the 2011 season when he signed a four year deal with the Brewers. After hitting .300 with 27 HR and 105 RBI with Milwaukee in 2012, Ramirez's offensive production has declined. In 81 games with the Brewers this season, Ramirez, now 37, is hitting .247 with 11 HR and 42 RBI.

The federal Environmental Protection Agency announced Thursday that it has awarded a $500,000 grant to Florida State University in Tallahassee to “improve understanding of the effects of climate change on indoor air quality.”

A half-million bucks to learn that if it gets warmer outside it will likely get warmer inside? Please. No more hamming it up about those $2,000 hammers the Pentagon has bought.

The EPA should have sought more bids. Heck, I would have told them this for fifty bucks and a six-pack of Sam Adams.

Perhaps it’s time for a sharp grant writer to request a half-mil to study the effects of scientific hoaxes used to drive political agendas. But then I suspect the folks at EPA, in their devious and sustainable little hearts, already know a good deal about this.

I confess that I am captivated by the rise of Donald Trump, and wonder just how much this reflects an admiration for him as opposed to a disgust at everyone else. I think the prospect of a Hillary vs. Jeb Bush contest must have something to do with it, but let’s just look at Trump by himself. The guy is an entrepreneur who built up a business empire on his own, who early on cut through red tape to build the Central Park skating rink, and who since then has made his way in spectacular fashion. What’s not to like about that?

Then there’s his flamboyance. I’m supposed to think that that’s a vice, when I contrast him to some of the gray characters in the Republican Party? Look, there’s something to be said for entertainment value.

The American Spectator Foundation is the 501(c)(3) organization responsible for publishing The American Spectator magazine and training aspiring journalists who espouse traditional American values. Your contributions are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law. Each donor receives a year-end summary of their giving for tax purposes.